The 45-year-old topped the standings with a total lift of 492.5kg in the Canadian city.

This was partly achieved by a world record lift of 145.5kg in the bench press.

She could have also competed in the masters class for the over-40s.

Thompson started lifting in 1999.

Since then, she has broken the world record 68 times in bench press and total combined.

She currently holds four International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) equipped bench press titles, two IPF classic bench press titles, four IPF classic powerlifting titles, one IPF masters bench press title and one IPF masters powerlifting title.

Powerlifting athletes often need to lose weight before competitions.

Thompson’s method is to keep her weight close to the competition mark at all times.

"In order to maintain my strength in this weight class, I found it important to train close to that weight," she said.

"You can find examples of athletes that drop 10 to 15 pounds the week before a competition, then take a sauna, and finally compete in a very dehydrated state.

"However, not many of them can maintain the strength they had in their training cycle for the meet."

Current world number one in her class, Thompson has two children, Tucker, 14, who lifted in the IPF Bench Press Classics last month, and Broden, 12.

"When I am not powerlifting I am water skiing on Lake Norman and hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains," Thompson added.

"I also spend much of my time watching my boys play baseball.

"Tucker is a pitcher and Broden is a catcher.

"Powerlifting takes up a bunch of our time, but I view it as a time to spend with my family and friends.

"It has also taken us to some remarkable places all around the world."